It's fair to say that gambling is on a roll these days. Although in the past there have been periods where gambling was viewed as sinful or as a vice associated with the underworld, that certainly has not been the case in recent years. Legalized gambling has never been more available: it grosses over $50 billion annually, more than the combined revenues from music, movies and amusement parks. Gambling on the Internet is also growing at a staggering rate, grossing over $1 billion dollars annually compared to inconsequential revenues a few years ago. As states struggle to balance their budgets in a declining economy, they increasingly are turning to various forms of gambling as a source of ready cash. Casino gambling, lotteries and video slot machines at racetracks are not only tolerated by state and local governments, but actually supported and promoted because the states' share of the "action" is so substantial. Gambling revenues are seen as a painless form of taxation, one that adults support freely and enjoyably.
A minority of gamblers have significant problems associated with gambling.
Pathological gambling, as defined in the DSM IV, entails loss of control over one's gambling, a progression to more frequent and higher stakes wagering, and gambling becoming a life focus in spite of adverse consequences. Problem gambling implies a negative impact of gambling on one's life that falls short of pathological gambling, on the same continuum but not as far along. In evaluating the costs versus benefits of gambling to society, stories of ruined finances and destroyed relationships are balanced against individual freedom to enjoy a harmless activity that supplants tax increases. What is rarely considered is the impact of a gambling culture on adolescent development.
Even though gambling is largely ignored when adolescent risk taking behavior is considered and studied, there are sufficient data available to conclude that adolescents are involved in gambling to the same degree as adults, just in different forms. (Because casinos and racetracks are usually off limits for adolescents, these popular forms of adult gambling are uncommon among adolescents; the lotteries and private gambling are the top choices for youth.) Regarding prevalence, one extensive review of multiple studies determined that approximately 80% of adolescents have gambled in the past year while a comparable survey estimated the rate for adults at 68%. Pathological and problem gambling are proportionately more common among adolescent gamblers than their adult counterparts: 5.8% and 14.8% respectfully versus 1.1% and 3.8% for adults. In a study of trends over time, the prevalence rates of adolescent gambling nationwide were calculated to have been 45% in the period between 1984-1989 and 66% between 1998-1999. It was during the last 20 years that gambling opportunities increased so dramatically and societal stigma decreased, tempting one to conclude (prematurely) that easy availability and seductive games have drawn in more teenagers.
An interesting study by Jacobs in 2000 evaluated adolescent gambling in Nevada, the most extensive casino gambling economy in North America. It was hypothesized that with ready access to all forms of gambling and societal support, youth in Nevada would gamble more and have a higher rate of problem gambling than their peers in other parts of the country. In fact, Nevada youth reported gambling in the past year only 75% as frequently as the national average and their rate of problem gambling was significantly lower than in other areas. These findings point to the complexity of factors that influence adolescent gambling patterns and suggest that problems are not inevitable if gambling is heavily age restricted as it is in Nevada.
Adolescent gambling is associated with bad outcomes. Adolescents who are pathological or problem gamblers have high rates of delinquency, school failure, family conflict, and psychiatric disorders. Even when gambling is not at a problem level, it is associated with other adolescent risk behaviors such as substance use, drunk driving, sexual activity, and violence. These relationships are well established but direction of causality is not. Most likely, a common tendency toward stimulus seeking and impulsivity underlies youth's involvement in both gambling and the other risk taking behaviors.
The bottom line is that, while much needed research is still lacking, we should not blithely assume that an increase in gambling nationwide affects only adults who "chose their poison." Adolescents are developmentally vulnerable to modeling by adults, to the attraction of forbidden fruit, to seductive advertising, and to the lure of the Internet. Gambling patterns established in adolescence set the stage for adult gambling problems. Gambling revenues are not just a quick fix for tight state budgets; they carry a price of unintentional impact on our youth that we should not continue to ignore.
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